Water closet tiltable seat



Aug. 5, 1969 N, E, HELLSTROM ET AL 3,458,872

WATER..CLOSET TILTABLE SEAT Filed June 2, 1966 INVENTORS Ax Ejhk Hn.\\$thv- Ralf LEO EKHIILM BY MAM ATTORNEY United States Patent 01 :"fice I3,458,872 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 3,458,872 WATER CLOSET TILTABLE SEATNils Erik Hellstrom and Rolf Leo Ekholm, Nyland, Sweden, assignors toAktiebolaget Electrolux, Stockholm, Sweden Filed June 2, 1966, Ser. No.554,854 Claims priority, application Sweden, June 2, 1965, 7,197/65 Int.Cl. A47k 13/00 U.S. Cl. 4-237 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Awater closet for disabled persons in which a holder having two mutuallyparallel legs extending one on each of the seat is at a height above thefloor corresponding to the knee joint of a standing person and ispivotally connected in front of the seat to brackets fixed to the floorwith one bracket being located on each side of the seat. Power means areoperably connected to the legs to tilt the holder and seat between aposition in which the seat is approximately horizontal and a position inwhich the seat is in a forwardly inclined position.

The present invention relates to a water closet arrangement whichenables a disabled person for example a person having difficulty inchanging from a sitting to a standing position and vice versa to use thewater closet without help from another person. The object of theinvention is therefore to provide a lifting device which serves to aid adisabled person in changing from a sitting to standing position and viceversa, when using a water closet.

A lifting device according to the invention comprises a bracketessentially defined by two L-shaped members, each of Which is secured tothe floor with a horizontal portion and further comprising verticalinclined portions, the upper free ends of which are proved with jointmembers, such as shafts, hinges or the like serving as pivots for alifting and strengthening member, which member is provided with a holderthat serves as the prime carrying member of the device. The jointmembers are arranged at such a distance above the floor as toapproximately correspond in height to the kneejoint of a standingperson. This distance is of great importance for a device according tothe invention.

The holder, which serves as a carrying member, is arranged underneaththe front part of the seat of a water closet, with the rear part of theseat being provided with holding means for the seat and the lid, whichholding means are connected to the holder by means of a bar of angleiron or the like. The device may be tilted about a horizontal axisthrough the joint members at the upper ends of the vertical portions bymeans of a hydraulic unit or similar device connected between thelifting and holding members and the floor or the bracket. The hydraulicunit or similar device is controlled by means of a readily accessibleselecting device for example, a three way control valve, the lever ofwhich may be secured to a rail which preferably may be provided aroundthe upper part of the closet chair and the holder. The valve maypreferably be connected by a tube to a suitable pressure source, forexample a water pipe.

A device according to the invention may also have the lid serving as aback support whereby the lid, when opened, rests against a transversemember secured to the holder and in which the lid may be held in itsopen position by means of a suction cup or the like arranged on thetransverse member.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become more fullyapparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription and drawings of an embodiment of the invention and in whichdrawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the invention in which the solidlines illustrate the lifting device in one position and the dash lines asecond position, and

FIGURE 2 is a view taken along the line II-II of FIGURE 1, the viewlooking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawings 1 designates a closet chair and flushing device shown bymeans of broken lines. A seat is designated 2 and a lid 3 while 4designates a bracket having a vertical or inclined part 4'. One suchbracket is secured to a floor or base 5 on either side of the closet. Ateach end of the inclined or vertical part 4' of the bracket, jointmembers 6 are provided in the form of shafts or pivots which areconnected to a strengthening frame 21 secured to a holder 7 arrangedunderneath the seat 2. The holder 7 serves as the prime carrying memberof the lifting device. Surrounding the holder 7 is a rail '8 of tubes orthe like provided with a transverse member 9 carrying a suction cup 10for holding the lid 3 in an upright position. 11 designates a three wayvalve or cock provided with a control lever 12 which by means of a tube13 is connected to a water pipe 24. The lifting member comprises acylinder 17 having a fixed member 18 which by means of a tap 19 isconnected to an upper bracket 20 situated below the holder 7 and by amovable member 16 to a lower bracket 15. The cylinder is provided with apiston (not shown) and a piston rod 22. 23 designates a section of anglebar iron wihch connects the holder 7, the seat 2 and the lid 3 via acommon connecting member 25 and at the same time provides a support forthe rails 8.

The present lifting means in FIGURE 1 is illustrated in lines in anelevated position. The prime designations 2', 3', 7', 8', 9, 10', 11,12', 17, 18', 19', 20 and 25', used for the elements in the elevatedposition correspond to the unprimed designations used with reference tothe position shown in full lines.

This invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity of theshowings in the drawings but changes or modifications may be madetherein so long as such changes or modifications mark no materialdeparture from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. Water closet arrangement for disabled persons comprising a holder aseat connected to said holder, said holder being tiltable about asubstantially horizontal axis passing through joint members on eitherside and in front of the seat, said joint members being situated at adistance above the floor approximately corresponding in height to theknee joint of a standing person, means for tilting said holder and seatbetween one position in which the seat is substantially horizontal andanother position in which said seat is lifted up above the closet andinclined forward, a lid attached to the rear part of the seat, atransverse member secured to the holder, and a suction cup on thetransverse member for holding the lid in an open position regardless ofthe position of the holder.

2. The water closet arrangement according to claim 4 wherein said meansfor tilting the holder comprise a hydraulic piston and cylinderarrangement and means for connecting the hydraulic arrangement to apressure source.

3. The water closet arrangement according to claim 2 wherein saidpressure source is the water supply for the closet.

4. A water closet arrangement for disabled persons comprising a seat, aholder having two mutually parallel legs extending one on each side ofthe seat and being at a height above the floor corresponding to theheight of the knee joint of a standing person and extending in front ofthe water closet a horizontal distance from the rear portion of the seatsomewhat exceeding the length of the thigh bone of a person, bracketsfixed to the floor and located one on each side of the seat, meanspivotally connecting the legs in front of the seat to the brackets, andmeans operably connected to the legs to tilt the holder and seat betweena position in which the seat is approximately horizontal and a forwardlyinclined position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 12/1964 Canada.

5/1932 Great Britain.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. J. GROSS, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R.

